Vipership (Ship)
A refinement of both the Eel and the Lamprey, the Vipership is perhaps the best, and most successful early human spelljammer design. Sleek, maneuverable, and heavily armed, the Vipership has proved to be a deadly vessel for its size class, and they are highly prized by navies and pirates alike. During the First Unhuman War, many goblinkin tribes made acquiring Viperships a priority, since they felt that the ships would make a potent weapon against the elves, partly because of its impressive combat abilities, and partly because it would not be attacked on sight. As this trend continued, elves began intercepting and boarding all Viperships that they encountered to ensure that the crews were not goblinkin. This harrassment, along with the fact that many goblin-commanded Viperships were destroyed or captured by the elves, led to a decline in the vessel's popularity, and to this day it has remained a relatively uncommon sight. Despite this, it seems that the Vipership is making a comeback. For centuries no new Viperships were built in the known spheres, however within the past 30 years a human group dismantled a salvaged Vipership, and began producing new vessels. The plans for the Vipership, lost since the First Unhuman War, have since been sold to several other shipyards. During the Second Unhuman War, it also became apparent that some goblinkin-controlled Viperships escaped the elves centuries ago. Intelligence has determined that at least one hidden hobgoblin shipyard has been steadily building Viperships for nearly 200 years. Evidence suggests that these hobgoblins have built hundreds of Viperships, and have supplied many of these to their scro allies. If the hobgoblins could somehow acquire enough helms to power all of these Viperships, it could tip the balance of the war. Crew Human crews of Viperships tend to be arranged along military lines. Such a crew will typically be 15 strong, which allows the ship and weapons to be manned at full efficiency, while still allowing several replacements for any casualties taken in combat. Amongst humans larger crews are unpopular, even on short journeys, since the Vipership has very little in the way of crew comforts or privacy. This matters little to goblinkin crews, who typically carry a crew of 30 (goblins or kobolds may cram even more warriors on board). Ship Uses Warship: Although very small for a warship, this is the role for which Viperships were designed, and it is a role that they excel at. The Vipership is ideally suited to destroying enemy scouts, providing supporting fire for larger ships in fleet operations, and going head-to-head with other medium and light warships. In addition, Viperships are often used as personal transports for high-ranking officers. Reaver: Used by both goblinkin and some human pirates as a reaver, the Vipership is perfect for attacking merchant vessels, and even military supply ships. Vipership reavers usually operate alone, and typically attack with the intent of capturing the other ship as a prize. Because of this, even human pirate crews often carry more than 15 men, in order that a prize crew can be provided for the captured vessel. Other Configurations Fireviper: This experimental version is being developed by humans. The Fireviper is fitted with additional armour, giving the ship AR 4 and MC C. Two ballistas and the jettison are replaced with a pair of bombard turrets. The cargo space, now used as a powder magazine, is further armoured (chance of a critical hit igniting the powder is reduced to 6%), reducing cargo space to 4 tons. By necessity, the Fireviper is a short-range military craft, and is intended to serve as a defense boat.